


Wear my color proudly

by Sevi007



Category: Bayonetta (Video Games)
Genre: Banter, Established Relationship, F/M, Gift Giving, Kissing, Making Out, Pre-Bayonetta 1 and 2, Pre-Canon, Romance, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25593358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sevi007/pseuds/Sevi007
Summary: They met at their rendezvous point under the oak tree behind the rose garden, in that small window of time at dusk when the powers they served respectively were at a standstill due to the sun setting and the moon rising. That was quite usual.He presented her with a gift this time. That was not usual.Balder and Rosa, and a gifted lipstick that holds more importance than meets the eye.
Relationships: Balder & Rosa (Bayonetta), Balder/Rosa (Bayonetta)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Wear my color proudly

**Author's Note:**

> A story born entirely out of the fact that I finished Bayonetta 2 (in one rush) and absolutely fell in love and had my heart broken by Rosa and Balder and their story. I already wanted to write something for them right after finishing the game, but then I read about Rosa's lipstick and it's message and - BAM I was a goner. I couldn't let that simply not be written, this important peace of their past. 
> 
> I went a bit wild with their personalities - in the end, I settled for something that resembles Bayonetta (for both of them) but is different. I hope. I also hope it's enjoyable to read!

They met at their rendezvous point under the oak tree behind the rose garden, in that small window of time at dusk when the powers they served respectively were at a standstill, with the sun setting and the moon rising. That was quite usual.

He presented her with a gift this time. That was _not_ usual.

Rosa felt her eyebrows rise when she looked the small item he had handed her without words closely, taking it in from all sides. Searching for its secret, the real meaning behind it. There was a kind of magic in it; she could feel it pulse under her fingers, curling protectively around the object as she sent a wave of her on dark art into it to see how it reacted. It felt similar to a barrier or a protective spell much like one of her own, but since it was born of the arts of the light and thus unfamiliar, she could not figure out what it was meant to _do,_ what it was protecting _from_. And she so hated not being able to solve a puzzle. 

An illusion to trick the eyes perhaps? To hide the true nature of the innocent looking little gift?

Yet no matter how she turned and prodded it, it still stayed the harmless little lipstick it was. No illusion or fake bottom to it. It was a very nice lipstick, the same deep red she would have chosen, the golden retainer beautiful in the last beams of sunlight – but it still was just that. Just a lipstick.

A lipstick with protective spells woven into it.

How very odd.

Her gaze cut from the mysterious little item to her lover - the maybe even bigger mystery out of the two. Balder had his hands folded neatly behind his back, watching her surveillance of his gift with a disinterest so perfect she just knew it was fake, and hadn’t said anything since their greeting.

Cocking her head at him and pursing her lips, Rosa waved the lipstick in his direction. “Not your color, dearest. It does not suit your complexion at _all_.”

The corner of his mouth curled in that arrogant smirk she had once hated with a passion and now come to love with the same fervor. It stayed on even while he huffed out a chuckle, rolling his eyes at her. “How fortunate, then, that it is for you.”

Not all that surprising, not really. Still, the _why_ remained a mystery, and she told him as much. “I _am_ a big girl, you know. I can buy my own lipstick.”

“You could,” he acquiesced easily. “That I do not doubt.”

“Buuut?”

Half answers wouldn’t do, never had, not with her, and he knew that just as well as she did.

His gaze dropped as he fought back a smile, offering her his hand with its palm up, bending into a shallow bow as he did. “May I?”

Rosa handed him the gift back just as gracefully as he had asked for it, making sure their fingertips brushed together as she did. The smile in the corner of his mouths widened before he could catch it, and she smiled back. In all their sharp-tongued back and forth, all their push and pull as it had always been with them, they never forgot that at the end of the day, they were of one mind: He loved her, she loved him. Simple as that.

Even when everyone around them threatened to make it more difficult for them.

With a gesture clearly practiced, Balder shook out the little item once he got hold of it, and with a tinkle, a thin gold chain which she had missed upon her inspection unfolded at one end. When he took it and spread it between his hands, it turned out that the lipstick served as a pendant on the chain, swaying back and forth lightly as he held it up.

“Since you kept on telling me how troublesome it is to get a new one after losing it in a fight,” there was tease and affection mingling in Balder’s voice as he finally explained his gift, the smile no longer hidden but soft and sincere.

Rosa found herself smiling back with the same force, heart melting a little at the thoughtfulness of it. “You _do_ listen to me complaining, after all.”

 _Of course,_ was written in the slightly bashful tilt of his head, _What else?_ in the shrug of his shoulders. He didn’t say it out loud; instead cleared his throat and made to hand the lipstick back to her.

“Wait,” her raised hand stopped him, and she sashayed closer, right into his space – not at all missing the way his breath hitched and gaze burned brighter as she smiled up at him from up close, before turning around, lifting her hair forward over her shoulder and out of the way. “Put it on me?”

She felt the puff of air on her neck as he hummed an agreement. Once his hands stroked lightly along her upper arms to her shoulders, leaving goosebumps in their wake, she wondered if she had given him a too powerful weapon to use against her – if maybe, she was more affected by this than he was; if she made herself too vulnerable with her back turned to him, too open with her magical hair tucked aside and her neck on show.

But then, right after the clasp clicked shut quietly and the lipstick came to rest safely to rest between her breasts, she felt Balder’s lips touch the back of her neck, whisper-soft and lingering, and all her doubt went up in smoke.

He knew how much she had trusted him just now, and the fingers squeezing her shoulders briefly felt like a thanks.

It took Rosa a moment to step forward and away from him, and when she did, she had trouble hiding her weak knees. One, two steadying breaths before she dared to turn around again, plucking thoughtfully at her new pendant. There were more spells woven into the chain itself, she could tell, linking with the ones she had already felt. Now aware of _why_ he had chosen this specific gift, she concluded that chain and lipstick likely had been made nearly indestructible by his capable magic. A thoughtful present, indeed. She would have to ask him about the nature of the spells and the procedure itself, but… later. Right now, she felt like _playing_.

The smile spreading slowly over her face was almost feline-like, pure danger and wickedness. “I should try it out, should I not?”

“Go ahead,” Balder smirked back at her, hands once again crossing behind his back. At ease. Knowing her game, she thought, but if he was immune to it because of that remained to be seen.

She did so love melting away his icy outer layers to find the passionate heart beneath. Making a game of it where the prize for her victory was exactly that passion, all for her, only made it all the sweeter.

There was no reason to brush her hair out of her face with a little sigh like she did, or to cock her hips like that simply to put on some lipsticks. And, certainly, she _did_ purse her lips a little too much, basically sending an air kiss in Balder’s direction with it. And _of course_ was there absolutely no reasonable point to the wink in the very same direction once she finished and smacked her lips one last time for good measure.

But if she didn’t do it, then where was the fun in this?

It was all worth it when she got to see his throat work a tiny bit too hard as he swallowed, or his stance shift from his proud, straight ways into something tenser, as if his muscles were already readying to pounce onto her without his say-so. He slanted a _not amused_ look her way when she giggled quietly but didn’t look really look upset.

Still highly amused and flattered (it was just nice knowing she still had the same effect on him as always) Rosa made to screw the lipstick back a little. Taking another closer look at it as she did, she noted that despite the time she had just spent styling herself with it, the length of the lipstick hadn’t changed. Self-replenishing as well as protected, she surmised with no little respect, it must have taken her lover quite some fiddling until he had woven that particular web of time manipulating magic. A lot of time and energy had gone into this present; she probably couldn’t even begin to fathom how much.

The thought made her amused smile soften into a more affectionate one. He really was a considerate one, her Balder, no matter what he said. She would have to thank him _thoroughly_ for looking out for her…

_Hm?_

The lipstick’s cap in hand and ready to put it back on, Rosa paused once more when a fine line of black amidst the red, peeking out from under the metal rim, caught her attention. Curiously, she twisted the lipstick once, twice more, trying to see what had been hiding from her until now.

The more she uncovered, the more could she not believe her eyes. When it finally lay before her completely, she found herself breathless and struck silent, not knowing if to cover her mouth to stifle the gasp or her eyes so he wouldn’t see her amazed tears. In the end, she did never, too frozen to the spot.

She had nearly _missed_ it.

The true meaning of the gift; hidden not by any kind of magic, but the lipstick’s gold retainer and her own blindness. In her search for a trick to the little gift, she had overlooked something as obvious as the card coming with it. Or in this case, the wishes written onto the lipstick itself.

A delicate black rose etched into the material, framing the curling letters running along the side, tenderly and proudly proclaiming it right there, for all the world to see:

" _Balder and Rosa: With Love Until the End of Time_ "

A quiet intake of breath across from startled her out of her stupor and Rosa looked up so quickly it nearly made her dizzy.

Balder was looking back at her with an expression she hadn’t seen from him yet; a strange mixture of the look a young boy being caught doing something naughty, and stubborn determination as if he was refusing to back down now he _had_ been caught.

Their gazes meeting shocked Rosa into motion; the lipstick fell from her numb hand and its chain tinkled quietly as she pushed back into his space, pressing in until they were nearly touching _but not yet,_ their faces only an inch apart _._ One hand tangled in his silvery hair and held on, not pulling, but a request for him to hold still.

She _felt_ the breath stuttering out of him, puffing against her lips, but he stayed as she asked silently. Kept so very, very still as she leaned in, he could have very well been made of stone, had she not been able to feel his body heat even with that last inch between them.

It would have been easy, now, to simply lean in and kiss him senseless like she very much – very, very much – wanted to right now, but Rosa stopped herself short with some difficulty, determined to make sure they were on the same page about this.

“Cheeky,” she told him, quietly, only inches from his lips, her second hand settling over his neck to steady herself. “Hiding something so sweet from me… do you mean it?”

Had her opposite been anyone else, she would have hated how soft her voice sounded on the last part; a little girl’s fragile dream, so easily destroyed. But with him, she felt it was save; kept in the same capable hands which already held her heart. 

“Every word. Always.” Balder’s voice matched hers, soft and fragile and rough. Not once did his gaze leave hers; not for the temptation of her lips so close to his, or their bodies nearly pressed together. His eyes were bright and open and a little hopeful as he murmured back, just as hushed, “Do you like it?”

There were layers to the question, and only when she turned it over in her head, examining it, did it click, and she took another amazed little breath. He hadn’t meant this as a declaration when gifting it to her; not only. It had been a question to her, as well. _Do you agree?_

Her voice was breathy with emotions when she finally found it again, and she had to blink, hard, to keep her tears at bay. “I love you, you brilliant fool. _Yes_.”

The smile stretching slowly, then with full force over his face was a beautiful thing to behold, indeed. Still, she had to ruin it, because she _had_ to kiss this brilliant, foolish, wonderful man of hers right then and there.

And she did.

Or he did. Or they _both_ did – it really was hard to tell who made the last step needed to bridge the gap, who was the first to move in, yet the outcome remained the same, so maybe it didn’t really matter. Lips met greedily and happily, hands gripped and tugged, arms wrapping around each other as they smashed together and held on tight. One groaned, one sighed, or maybe that was the both of them, as well. Rosa was only sure that it was Balder who nudged her back first because it was _her_ back that met the tree’s trunk, and _his_ body which pressed into hers deliciously and kept her there. The exact details didn’t matter there, either. Not as long as he kept kissing her, kept being so close she could easily wrap one leg around his hips and keep him all to her while kissing the living daylight out of him. Could press every declaration of love and devotion she had every told him, had every _wanted_ to tell him, straight against his lips, and taste his own right back.

Regretfully, breathing became necessary again at some point, even for them. Rosa’s little noise of protest quickly had him back away and carefully put her back on her own feet, both of them panting for air. Once their gazes met again they smiled so wide it hurt and leaned back in, just to rest their foreheads against each other’s, nudge the tip of their noses together while they waited and caught their breath again.

Pushing her slipping glasses back up, Rosa let her appreciative swipe over Balder from head to toe, not even trying to swallow her pleased smile. This sight right here, for her eyes and hers only, was possibly the way she liked him best – his strict demeanor cracking under the heat and love written all over him, his neat appearance rumpled by her greedy hands and lips, and a lovely flush taking over his face.

It was only made sweeter by the wonderful color he was wearing now.

“Would you look at that,” Rosa exclaimed, letting a smirk curl her lips that could easily match his as she captured his chin in one hand and tipped his head first left, then right, meeting no resistance from him. Possessive pride and warm affection bubbled in her chest as she surveyed the red color she had smeared over his thin lips and pale skin, marking him as hers and her as his. “I have to correct myself. This _is_ your color, darling.”

Confusion swept over Balder’s expression, his hand shooting up to his lips as soon as she let him go. Almost instantly his fingers met the sticky evidence of her corruption of him and his expression twisted; caught somewhere between a fought-down smile and a frown, she supposed. The sheer dichotomy of it made giggles bubble up her throat, and she didn’t even begin to try and stop them, laughing merrily into his face.

Balder pressed his lips together, only worsening his predicament. Wiping one corner of his mouth with his thumb and giving the red clinging to it a most unimpressed look, he shook his head, glancing up at her from under his lashes. “Even when it is applied so poorly?”

Her giggles cut off abruptly. The offended little noise that replaced them was out of her mouth before Rosa could catch it. She did catch, however, the satisfied glint in his eyes, and narrowed her own at him. “I take criticism on my makeup skills _very_ badly.” 

The glint only intensified, brightened his entire face with smugness as he leaned in “I know.”

Sometimes she really didn’t know whether to shoot him or kiss him. “Do you love playing with fire so much that you will risk getting burned, dear?”

“I do not see you doing something about it, my love,” his voice had dropped to a purr by now, absolutely ruining the nonchalance he aimed for.

_Well, that **does** it. _

With a growl more suited to her inner beast than her human form Rosa struck, throwing one leg up and around his hips with flexible ease while she jumped off with the other. Using the momentum of the jump and a twist of her lower body to her advantage, she whirled the both of them around their axis so that it was now Balder’s back that hit the bark, and her body crushing into his and pinning him there. Before her second leg had even fully finished wrapping around him as well, she was already descending on him with ferocity; fingers tugging at his hair to tip his head back, and her lips devouring his.

Perhaps the way he responded without missing a beat, not even pausing one startled second before he met her readily and just as passionately, should have made her suspicious. However - with one of his hands tangling in her hair to loosen the ties there, and the other curling greedily around the small of her back and dipping lower while he nipped and bit and licked at her lips with a groan, she _really_ had more important things to focus on.

Only a very long, very pleasant while later, she found herself admitting that perhaps, just perhaps, she had known the entire time that this had been his goal all along when he needled her so. But by then, she was already well on her way to showing him just _how_ skilled she was in applying that lipstick with only her mouth _and_ distracted all together by how unfairly well it suited him. So she really didn’t mind all that much anymore.

After all, it had proven to be a mutually beneficial outcome.


End file.
